Matchmaker
by flipomatic
Summary: Honoka was determined. She was gonna help her friends get together or die trying. Well, that was an exaggeration, but she was confident. Her plan was flawless. -Or- Each member of Muse tries their hand at matchmaking. -Or- Nozomi and Eli troll their friends.


Author Note: This had to come from somewhere, thought right now I'm not sure where. I found Honoka's pickup lines online.

* * *

When Maki won two movie passes in a raffle, she didn't know what to do with them. She didn't have time to go to the movies, and her parents didn't want them either. Maki ended up stuffing the tickets in her bag, where they remained forgotten for a couple weeks.

Maki remembered the tickets one day when she saw her friends Nozomi and Eli walking down the school hallway together. Classes had already ended for the day, so when Maki passed the third year pair they were on their way to the student council room.

Maki often saw them together before school, after practice, and in public on the weekends. They always seemed to be together. It was almost like they were dating. But they didn't really behave like a couple, aside from spending all their time together, going out for food, and regular teasing. Oh wait, Maki stopped her train of thought, those were all things couples did.

She could just ask them, but actually no she couldn't. It would be way too embarrassing; she'd never get the question out. There was a better way currently hanging out in her school bag.

"Good afternoon, Maki." Eli greeted Maki as she approached. "Are you headed to practice?"

"Soon." Maki nodded.

"Elichi and I have some student council business, so we'll be up in a bit." Nozomi smiled softly at the younger student. She carried a small stack of papers in her arms.

"See you there." Maki had already turned away when she remembered the tickets. "Wait, one second." She dug through her bag as Nozomi and Eli looked back at her, pulling out the tickets in a rush. "I-I won these a while ago, and I thought you two might like them." Maki fought a flush as she babbled. "You could see whatever movie you want with them." She'd been speaking for too long, but the next part was the most important. "It could be, like, a date." Very smooth, nine out of ten. Hopefully they would accept the tickets, tell her if they were dating, and forget this encounter ever happened.

"That's very kind of you." Eli didn't seem to react at all to the suggestion. "But neither of us are dating anyone right now." She exchanged a glance with Nozomi, who then turned her green gaze to Maki.

"Well, Maki." Nozomi's eyes gleamed ominously as she stepped towards the younger teen. "Which one of us do you want to go out with, then?"

"What? I don't…" Maki spluttered and backed away with both hands raised defensively.

"Don't be silly." Maki felt a hint of relief, followed by utter horror as Eli turned to Nozomi with a smirk. "You know she prefers Nico."

"No w-way!" Maki sputtered defensively. "J-just take the tickets!" She practically thrust the tickets into Eli's hand before scurrying away from the pair. "I'll see you at practice." By the time Eli could formulate a response, Maki was down the hall and half way up the stairs.

Maki stopped at the landing by the roof, leaning against a wall to catch her breath. That didn't go well at all. Not only were they not dating, they thought that Maki… and Nico… Eli wasn't the kind of person to joke around like that, so Maki panicked and fled. It wasn't discreet, but she still ended the conversation.

In retrospect, it felt like they'd deflected her away from the topic of their relationship. She wasn't expecting that at all. It was almost as if one or both of them had something to hide.

Maki definitely needed to talk to the rest of Muse about Nozomi and Eli's relationship.

* * *

Honoka was determined. She was gonna help her friends get together or die trying. Well, that was an exaggeration, but she was confident. Her plan was flawless. If Honoka made Nozomi jealous, then she would make a move. Honoka looked up some pickup lines online and set out to get Eli to agree to go on a date with her. She decided to start by simply asking, and approached Nozomi and Eli before practice.

"Hey Eli." Honoka couldn't help but fidget with her hands slightly. She jumped right into it, regardless of the consequences. "Do you wanna go out with me on Saturday?" Nozomi coughed once and cleared her throat, casting her gaze away.

Eli merely raised one eyebrow as she responded. "Aren't you having dinner with Tsubasa on Saturday?" For Honoka, time seemed to stop at these words.

"Oh crap!" She jumped back, almost tripping over her own ankles. "I forgot!" This was a setback, but Honoka could still make the strategy work. Next time she would bring the pickup lines.

* * *

When Maki asked for the group to help Nozomi and Eli admit their feelings, Rin didn't think she'd be much use. She didn't have any experience with relationships, so she wasn't sure how to help.

Rin pondered on what strategy to use all through class all day. She could just shove one of them onto the other. But no, they could get hurt. Maybe if Rin sent one of them a bowl of rice and said it was from the other, that would get them talking. No, Rin was forced to let go of that idea since it would really only work for Hanayo. At the end of the school day Rin still wasn't sure what to do.

The idea came to her during Muse practice. The whole group was taking a break after learning a new dance routine. Eli, Nozomi, Umi, Rin, and Hanayo all sat in the shade while Nico, Maki, Kotori, and Honoka ran to get something from downstairs. The five girls who remained sat in a circle, with Hanayo to Rin's left and Umi to her right. Nozomi and Eli sat across from her, together as usual.

"I like how the new choreography is coming together." Even when on break, Umi still wanted to talk about rehearsal. "We still need to work on the timing though."

"I agree." El leaned back on her hands comfortably. "We'll practice it more when the others return." To Eli's right, Nozomi mimicked her posture.

As Rin looked at their hands, which were almost a foot apart, she had an idea. She remembered a story she'd once heard about two soulmates whose pinkie fingers were tied together by a red string. If she remembered it correctly, it was called the red string of fate. Maybe Rin could use it to help her friends. She was pretty sure she had some string in her bag.

"Kayo-chin." Rin turned towards Hanayo. "I'll be right back."

"O-ok."

Rin hopped to her feet, scampering over to where her bag sat in the sun. She popped it open and shoved one hand in, digging around without looking inside. When her fingers felt string she gave it a tug and balled it up in her fist. She yanked her sealed hand out of the bag and snapped it shut. Rin opened her palm to inspect the string, frowning at the sight of it.

The string was orange.

Could she still use it?

She had to; even though she'd just thought of it Rin was committed to this plan, so she was still going to do it. Even if it was the wrong color, they'd still get the message.

The next problem was how to do it without anybody noticing. Eli was deep in conversation with Umi about the choreography, so Rin decided to try her first. She tied a small slip knot in the string as she walked casually back towards the group. Instead of sitting in her previous spot, Rin sidled around the others and sat down behind Eli.

Hanayo's eyes followed Rin's motion as she tilted her head inquisitively. Rin raised one finger to her mouth in a shushing motion, and Hanayo nodded in response.

Once Hanayo looked pointedly away, Rin leaned forward to attempt her task. She moved the loop towards Eli's hand slowly, holding her breath to not make any extra noise. Rin lined up the loop with the desired finger to make sure it was perfect. She was so focused on her task she didn't even notice Nozomi's green eyes twinkling down at her.

Rin finally slipped the loop onto Eli's finger, which the older girl didn't notice. Unfortunately, when Rin pulled on the slip knot to tighten it Eli yanked her hand away.

"Aah!" Eli leaned away from the teen who seemed to appear out of nowhere, clutching her right hand to her chest. "What are you doing Rin?" She looked down at the dangling string. "What is this?"

"I, uh…" Rin didn't have an excuse ready, so it was time to improvise. "I was just, uh, looking for that piece of string." She pointed at the offending object. "Thanks for finding it for me." Hopefully Eli would buy that.

"Alright then." Eli raised one eyebrow as she slid the orange string off her finger. "Here you go then." She was about to drop it into Rin's outstretched hand when Nozomi interrupted her.

"Elichi, you should give it to Hanayo." There was something mischievous about Nozomi's smirk. "After all, the string of fate is supposed to connect soul mates."

"N-n-n-no that's not…" Hanayo stuttered as her cheeks flared red.

Rin felt her ears heating up. Soul mates, her and Hanayo? It's not like she'd never thought about it but this wasn't really the right time. "I'll just take it." She fought the urge to look at Hanayo. "Please."

Eli dropped it into her palm with a small smile. Before she could say anything else Honoka burst onto the roof with the other half of the group. Practice resumed soon after, and the group quickly forgot about the incident.

Clearly the orange string of fate wasn't going to work.

* * *

"You know what this material is?" Honoka adjusted the bow on her uniform.

"Cotton?" Eli guessed with a small smile.

"Wool?" Nozomi guessed as well, though without the smile.

"Girlfriend material." Honoka raised both eyebrows a couple times to emphasize the line.

Eli shook her head and walked away.

* * *

Hanayo checked her bag for the tenth time that day to make sure it was still there. She'd spent a couple hours preparing it before school; it'd be really bad if she lost it. Hanayo let out a sigh of relief as her fingers ran over the box-like object. When she gave this to Nozomi and Eli it was sure to bring them together.

When class paused for lunch Hanayo made her move. She told Rin she'd be back in a few minutes before heading upstairs to the third year classroom. After taking a moment to gather her courage, Hanayo slowly entered the room. A few third year students looked over as the door opened, but they quickly lost interest in the first year student they'd never met.

Eli and Nozomi sat next to each other, as usual, in the second to last row in the classroom. Hanayo excused herself as she moved towards the pair.

"Good afternoon, Hanayo." Eli greeted her with a small wave.

"H-hello." Hanayo stuttered despite herself. "I-I just stopped by because." She paused to open her bag. "I wanted to give b-both of you this." Hanayo pulled the item out of her bag and presented it to Nozomi and Eli. On the outside it didn't look like anything special, but on the inside it contained a homemade lunch specifically prepared for the potential couple.

"You made us lunch?" Nozomi cast a glance over at Eli.

"There's a lot of food, so you can sh-share it." Hanayo thrust the box forward as she bowed her head forward. "Please accept it."

"Harasho." Eli accepted the box with a smile. "Thank you so much, Hanayo."

"I feel like a real upperclassman now." Nozomi chuckled. She watched as Eli opened the box up, revealing the delicious contents inside. Hanayo's stomach grumbled as she examined all the different kinds of rice within.

"It looks so good; I don't know how I'm going to share it." Eli commented with a wink.

"We'll manage somehow." Nozomi started looking for a pair of chopsticks in her bag.

"Maybe Hanayo can help us with that." Eli turned to her underclassman. "How should we share this?"

The question made Hanayo uneasy. "Umm, Rin and I usually just eat from it at the same time."

"So you're already to that stage, huh?"

Uh-oh. "N-n-no it's not like that." Hanayo could still remember the string incident from a few days before. She checked the clock frantically. "I-I better head back to the classroom."

"See you later!" Nozomi exclaimed around a mouthful of rice.

"Bye." Hanayo retreated hastily, leaving the older teens to enjoy their lunch.

She never did find out if it brought them closer together or not.

* * *

"With my IQ and your body we could make a race of super children." Honoka made a peace sign with one hand.

Nozomi and Eli didn't even stop walking.

* * *

When Muse decided to perform duets, Umi knew her opportunity to help had arrived. She wrote the lyrics for Nozomi and Eli's duet first. If she wrote the song just right they might admit their feelings. At least, that was the goal.

Writing the song turned out to be harder than expected. It was so embarrassing, every time Umi added a line she had to stop and gather herself. Relationships, especially secret gay ones, were just too much for her.

After a couple extra hours of work Umi was able to finish the song. She brought a copy of the lyrics to school and pulled Nozomi and Eli aside to show them. It was good to get their approval before asking Maki to write the music.

"Here are the lyrics for your new duet." Umi kept her hands steady as she handed the papers to Eli. "I'm thinking of calling it Garasu no Hanazono."

"The Garden of Glass." Eli translated the title as she skimmed through the lyrics. Her face paled slightly as she neared the end. "This is certainly… passionate."

"Wow Umi." Nozomi whistled. "I didn't know you had it in you." She seemed more impressed than flustered; it didn't seem like either third year was going to confess over this song.

Umi, on the other hand, felt a flush creeping onto her cheeks. "It's nothing special." She muttered.

"You must have some experience with it then." Nozomi's eyes glinted over a creepy grin. "Meeting someone in your glass garden, that is."

"How shameless!" Umi took half a step back. "Of course I don't!"

"Are you sure?" Eli mirrored Nozomi's expression. "Some of these lines must come from experience."

"Definitely not." Umi asserted as she took a full step back this time, bumping right into somebody.

"Oh, here's your partner now." Nozomi quipped.

Umi turned her head slowly, made eye contact with Kotori, and felt her grip on reality lessen slightly. "Excuse me." She wasn't even able to bow. "I must be giving these to Maki now." Umi snatched the papers out of Eli's grip before stumbling off to locate the musician.

This was way too embarrassing to keep talking about.

* * *

"On a scale of one to ten, you're a nine. I'm the one you need." Honoka raised a number one over her head.

Eli and Nozomi exchanged a glance and promptly burst out laughing.

* * *

Kotori's plan was simple. It she convinced Nozomi and Eli to go on the roof together at sunset, then the atmosphere would help them admit their feelings.

The first thing Kotori had to do was get them to go on the roof, just the two of them. She figured the best way to do it would be with anonymous letters. She handwrote one to each of them, saying she had something to tell them and asking them to come to the roof at 7:30 pm.

To make sure they received the letters, Kotori came to school half an hour early the next day. She stuck the letters discreetly into Nozomi and Eli's shoe lockers. Most students didn't arrive that early, so Kotori was able to plant them without getting caught. She made sure the lockers were closed properly before heading to the clubroom to work on some costumes before school started.

Once school began Kotori put the plan out of her mind to focus on class. Her school work was important, so important that she didn't notice Umi glancing at her every half an hour.

It was even harder to focus during Muse practice, and she had to remind herself not to ask Nozomi and Eli about the letters. After practice she stayed behind at the school, dismissing herself from the group easily. Kotori sat in a classroom near the stairwell on the second floor, so when Nozomi and Eli went up to the roof she'd see them.

It didn't take long before someone in an Otonokizaka uniform walked up the stairs. Their dark long hair fluttered as they climbed past the second floor. Wait, Kotori stopped her train of thought, neither Eli nor Nozomi wore their hair that way. Who was climbing to the roof?

Kotori left her hiding place to find out. She crept up the stairs slowly, taking care to not make much noise. She couldn't see the person on the stairwell, so she climbed to the top and peeked out onto the roof. It took her less than a second to identify her childhood friend Umi.

The other girl gazed up at the sunset thoughtfully. Her head spun around at the sound of the rooftop door opening.

"Umi!" Kotori called out as she stepped on to the roof.

"Kotori?" Umi's eyes widened as her friend approached. "What are you doing here? Did you." She hesitated and cleared her throat. "Did you get a note too?"

"A note?" Kotori's heart dropped. "What do you mean?"

"I found a note in my locker after school that said to come up here." Umi pulled the letter out of her pocket. As she read it over her face darkened into a flush. "If you didn't get one, then… this is your handwriting, isn't it?" Her hands shook slightly.

"It's just a misunderstanding." Kotori closed the remaining distance between herself and Umi, fighting of a blush of her own. "I meant for Nozomi and Eli to receive it. They were supposed to come up here as part of Maki's plan. Clearly they saw right through me." They probably arrived at school together and figured it all out. "Guess my plan was a bust."

"Oh." Umi cast her eyes toward the ground as she crumpled up the paper in her fist. "I understand, I'll be going."

Kotori called to Umi before she could even move. "Please wait. There is still a positive to this situation." She leaned forward and placed one hand on top of Umi's clenched fist. "I get to watch the sunset with you."

Umi raised her eyes slowly. She opened up her palm, allowing the paper to drop to the roof. Their fingers linked together, and Kotori couldn't look away as the sunset danced in Umi's eyes.

"Yeah." Umi had a look on her face that Kotori couldn't place, but she put it out of her mind as they watched the sunset together.

* * *

"Excuse me, I just noticed you noticing me and I just wanted to give you notice that I noticed you too."

"What?"

* * *

Nico was pretty sure that every single one of her friends was utterly incompetent in the love department. They each tried their hand at getting Nozomi and Eli together, and they each failed one after another. Nico would not fail.

She arranged to meet Nozomi and Eli at a local café on Saturday. Of course, she wasn't actually planning to show up on time.

Nico made sure to arrive at the café about ten minutes late. Instead of heading inside she stopped in front of one of the windows. She peeked in carefully, not wanting to be seen from the inside.

As expected, Nozomi and Eli sat together at a small table meant for two near the window. They both nursed a cup of coffee as they talked about something Nico couldn't hear through the glass.

After a moment Nico pulled out her phone to shoot Nozomi a text. "Something's come up and i can't make it. Have fun on ur date!" After Nico hit send she stuffed the phone back in her pocket. She looked up just in time to see Nozomi receive the text.

The purple haired teen didn't seem bothered by the news; she just went back to talking to Eli. Nico had no idea what they were talking about, and she quickly felt herself getting bored.

She didn't stay that way for long.

Nico's heart skipped a beat as Nozomi reached forward and placed one of her hands over Eli's. The blonde teen flushed slightly in response, and Nico leaned closer into the window. She practically had her face pressed to the glass when Nozomi scooted her chair around the table, putting the back of her chair to the window. She seemed to be leaning in towards Eli…

Nico jerked away from the window. She was a lot of things, but a voyeur wasn't one of them. This was actually a good thing, since things seemed to be going as planned. Anyway, spying like this felt wrong.

She decided to leave the happy couple alone to establish their relationship. Anyway, she still needed to call Maki to gloat about her success.

* * *

Even without talking about it, Eli and Nozomi knew all along that their friends were trying to set them up. It was too easy, and way too much fun, to play matchmaker in return. When Maki offered them movie tickets they teased her about Nico. Rin and Hanayo practically did it to themselves. Honoka, well, she was already on her way to dating Tsubasa. Umi and Kotori took a little more work, but might've had the best results of the group. So when Nico invited the pair to a local café, they figured it was another set up.

Eli arrived first, which happened to be right on time. She bought a cup of coffee before claiming a small table by the window. Nozomi walked in a few minutes later. She purchased coffee as well and joined her friend.

"Hey." Eli greeted Nozomi with a nod. "I'd ask you why Nico called us here, but I'm afraid I already know the answer."

"They've all been acting odd lately." Nozomi took a sip from her coffee. "Nico's the only one who hasn't done something strange yet." She wasn't prepared to name exactly what that strange thing was. The two of them had talked around the subject plenty, and Nozomi wasn't willing to talk directly about it.

"She could still prove us wrong." Eli mused as she glanced towards the café entrance.

Nozomi was about the agree with Eli when her phone buzzed. She took her phone out, chuckling at who texted her. "Speak of the devil." Nozomi opened the text, reading it quickly. "Nico-chi's not coming. She says to 'enjoy your date'." She sighed as Eli scanned the room.

"She's outside the window." Eli gestured towards the window off to the side. "Of course she'd do something like this." She scoffed.

"She's trying so hard." Nozomi still avoided saying what the goal was. "Maybe we should humor her."

"Eh?" Bright blue eyes widened with astonishment.

"It won't be hard to scare her off." Nozomi reassured her friend. "Just follow my lead."

"Ok." Eli agreed after a moment.

Once she had the all clear, Nozomi made her first move. One hand left her drink and laid itself on one of Eli's. "Is she watching?" Nozomi asked.

Eli's cheeks flushed slightly as her eyes flicked towards the window. "Yeah."

"Good." Nozomi scooted her chair to the side, bringing it to sit next to Eli's. She made sure that her back was to the window. Eli turned her head to follow Nozomi's movement, and as Nozomi leaned toward her she stiffened at the contact. "Close your eyes." Nozomi instructed as she gently placed her forehead against Eli's. She closed her eyes and held the pose for a few seconds, relishing even this manufactured moment.

"Nozomi." Eli's breath felt warm against her cheek. "I think she's gone." Nozomi opened her eyes to look into Eli's blue gaze, but she didn't pull back. "We need to talk, about all of this." Eli murmured, leaning back to break the pose.

Nozomi sat back in her seat, steeling herself for this conversation. "What do you mean?" She pretended not to understand.

"About our friends trying to get us to date." Eli crossed her arms. "Things can't keep going on like this." A small frown sat on her face.

"You're right." Nozomi took a deep breath. "We need to tell them that it's not gonna happen." Even if it would break her heart, she added silently.

"I guess." Eli's frown deepened. "I mean, none of their nonsense has actually worked anyway." She trailed off, casting her gaze out the window.

Nozomi hesitated, but still asked. "Did you want it to?" She asked softly, hoping that Eli couldn't hear her pounding heart. "Because I…" she took a shuddering breath. "Even though we shut them down, I still kind of hoped…" Nozomi couldn't finish that sentence, and her voice faded into silence. Eli inhaled sharply as her eyes snapped back to Nozomi. For Nozomi, it felt like her heart stopped as she waited for a response.

"What material is my shirt made of?" Eli blurted out. Nozomi was too surprised to respond. "Girlfriend material." A smile crept onto Eli's face as she asked. "Do you want to go out sometime?"

"Absolutely." Nozomi grinned from ear to ear as her eyes glinted with unshed tears. "How does today sound?"

"Perfect."

* * *

End note: This is utter nonsense. Also they owe Honoka for that pickup line.


End file.
